


Bad Day

by Nako13yeh



Series: Special Little Brother & Failed Big Brother [4]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Black Bulls Squad as Family (Black Clover), Cherry Tarts, Developing Friendships, Family Feels, Finral and Vanessa are besties, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, It's Hard and Nobody Understands, Mood Swings, Peace Offerings, Self-Acceptance, Self-Reflection, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23375143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nako13yeh/pseuds/Nako13yeh
Summary: Finral and Langris are having a bad day.How will their squads help them get through it?
Relationships: Finral Roulacase & Langris Vaude
Series: Special Little Brother & Failed Big Brother [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594798
Comments: 28
Kudos: 155
Collections: IAmStoryteller's Best of Black Clover Fic Rec





	1. The Golden Dawn

The chandeliers glistened as the soft rays of the morning light brushed through the arched windows of the Golden Dawn’s dining area. The thin, white curtains billowed against the soft breeze as idle chatters rung through the room.

Langris was bent over the table, reviewing a pile of reports scattered around him. Next to him was an almost empty plate of cherry tarts. He picked one up and took a bite as he flipped through the next page of the report.

He scowled and tried not to let his irritation get the better of him.

Thankfully, the tables around him were empty.

Everyone could tell that he wasn’t in the best mood and respected that. One of the perks of having a strong personality and terrifying magic was scaring people with it. If he had a choice, he would’ve stayed locked up in his room or his study, but Captain Vangeance warned him otherwise. Since he was forced out of confinement, he decided to simply bury himself in work so he wouldn’t have to interact.

He can’t do it, not after that _social gathering_ announcing him as the new heir of House Vaude.

It was Finral’s fault.

His brother had given up his responsibilities as the eldest son and even had the nerve to lie to him. Finral even changed his last name to ‘ _Roulacase’_ without telling him and ran away with his belongings.

Langris grimaced, letting his mana flare in annoyance.

_How dare he?_

In his distraction, Langris didn’t notice someone approach him.

The light from the archway had dimmed and Langris turned to look up. It was Alecdora. He was smug and cynical as always. His taupe colored eyes narrowed in mockery. Langris didn’t need this on top of everything else. It was already a horrible start of his day and he just got back from his parents.

“Sandler,” Langris greeted first. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“I’m only surprised.” Alecdora scoffed. “After your promotion as our new vice-captain, I didn’t think we’d find you missing for weeks.”

“I didn’t know you needed my guidance so much.” Langris replied, mocking through his teeth in irritation. Alecdora was older than him, but Langris had rank. It was fairly easy to make a comeback. “Rest assured I won’t be leaving any time soon.”

Alecdora glared. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” He smiled as sweetly as he could. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. As your vice-captain, I’m eager to see you do your work. And who knows… you might just get a decent promotion.”

The whole room had gone quiet.

Langris had gone back to his work while Alecdora looked at Langris with seething eyes. Everyone who was listening had retreated to gossip with one another. Alecdora trembled in anger as his fists automatically clench.

The vice-captain lazily turned to him.

“You’re still here?”

Alecdora wasn’t foolish to challenge Langris.

With resentment, he backed away and moved to the other side of the room to have his breakfast. His other colleagues had joined him at his table, but no one mentioned the awkward turn that happened. Langris rolled his eyes. He really didn’t need this on top of his already _awful_ morning.

However, it did feel a little good to put someone in their place.

Langris grabbed another cherry tart from his plate and went back to reading reports. Yet after a while, Langris realized that he couldn’t concentrate, not when he had a lot on his mind.

_Today was awful._

Actually, ever since he got promoted, everything had spiraled out of his control.

His parents, who have always been an authority over his life, continued to control what his future would be. Even after his promotion, Langris couldn’t escape their charge. He hated it. Then he lost his older brother, who he had trusted to step up and take his claim. And now, newly promoted, he had more crap to deal with because there were still a number of people who wanted to challenge his position.

“Vice-captain,” Someone greeted.

The tone of their voice was challenging and condescending.

Langris sighed as he looked up from his work. He had a feeling this kind of treatment won’t end any time soon. While the younger and new ones were easy to round up, because they respected his authority, the older members of Captain Vangeance’s squad were a little… high-strung and difficult.

Safe to say, Langris was having a horrible day.

* * *

**oOo**

If the vice-captain was having a bad day, so was everyone around him.

David sighed, resting his chin on his palm as he flipped his dice around the table. It had been a couple of hours after breakfast, yet the common-dining area were still tense and gloomy. His blue eyes stared lazily at the far side of the room until he felt someone tap his shoulders.

“Letoile!” He greeted. “Where’ve you been?”

“Busy finishing my report,” She tersely replied as she showed him the folder. “I need to give these to the vice-captain. Have you seen him? He wasn’t in his study.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

With a sigh, David pointed to the far side of the room.

Letoile looked up and saw auburn hair. Langris was seated near the buffet table with numerous folders scattered around him. The seats surrounding his table were empty. Letoile tilted her head and blinked in confusion.

She asked, “Is something wrong?”

David sighed, “Can’t you see he’s not in a good mood?”

“I can tell.” Letoile answered. “With all the backlogs on reports, I can’t blame him, but humor me.”

Okay, he did not expect that type of reply. “I’m just saying,” David started. “Ever since Vice-captain Langris returned from his leave, he’s constantly irritated. He would’ve locked himself in his room or his study if it wasn’t for Captain Vangeance’s orders to mingle more.”

“So he’s doing his work here?”

“Basically.”

“Then I don’t see the problem.” She voiced. “He’s eating and working. There’s nothing wrong with both.”

“He’s terrifying.” David nervously chuckled as he tried to keep his voice down. “He snapped at almost everyone today, even the ones who were just walking by to get to that side of the buffet table.”

“You’re seriously likening him to a guard dog?”

David just shrugged.

Letoile rolled her eyes as she rested her hand on her hip. “I’d be in a bad mood too if people won’t let me work in peace. And I don’t need a compass to know where that type of situation is headed.” Then she waved the folder in her other hand. “I still need to give these to him.”

“Do you have cherry tarts to offer?”

“Excuse me?”

“Cherry tarts,” David repeated. “Peace offering.”

Letoile grimaced. “Why would I need one?”

“For him.” He laughed and casually pointed at Langris’ plate. “Everyone left the cherry tarts alone to appease our dear vice-captain. He’s calmer now that they’ve replenished the supply, so they’re having the cooks make more.”

“So," She shrugged. “He has a sweet-tooth. Most people do.”

“Tell that to Alecdora, Jasper, and Victor.”

“I know Alecdora,” Letoile said, gravitating to the name. “What happened to him?”

“Our vice-captain chewed and spit him out.” David said, spinning his dice around the table. “Look behind me; few tables to the right, by the entrance. He won’t even move.”

Letoile casually turned and recognized Alecdora, who was surrounded by several other Golden Dawn members. They were playing a card game, but he was the only one frowning. Letoile had worked with the guy before. She knew he had a temper, so it was a miracle that he wasn’t causing problems. She turned back to David, who was smiling.

She wondered, “What did he do?”

“Alecdora thought it was a good idea to start the day with a joke. He made a comment about the vice-captain taking his leave after he got promoted. It wasn’t pretty. The whole conversation backfired. Vice-captain Langris was already in a bad mood, so he told Alecdora to worry about his own promotion.”

“And you heard that all the way from here?”

“It was quiet.”

Letoile sighed, “And the other two?”

“Same thing.” David shrugged. “They tried to congratulate him on his promotion, but it turned sour way too quickly. They’re probably nursing their egos elsewhere. As for the rest… anyone that moves gets treated the same way.”

“Have they nothing better to do than to antagonize our newly appointed vice-captain?”

“Beats me.”

Letoile looked at Langris, who was still tense and annoyed. She sighed and moved towards him. David called her back, but she ignored him. She’s not afraid of Langris. She didn’t need to be. As she neared the buffet table, everyone in the room had gone silent. Letoile felt every eye was on her.

She stopped and greeted Langris.

“Vice-captain.”

Langris looked up and stared at her.

“This was from yesterday’s incident in Hecario,” Letoile said as she handed out her report. “I’ve added details regarding the suspect and what magic items were stolen. I think we can easily narrow it down to the few I named.”

“That’s good news,” Langris replied. “Thank you.”

He blindly took the folder from her and placed it on top of the other folders on the table. Then he went back to his work. Letoile kept a steady face when Langris ignored her after that. It was her signal to leave. Before that, she noticed one last piece of cherry tart left on his plate and went back to David.

She voiced, “You’re not wrong about the cherry tarts.”

“I can’t believe you survived.” David gasped. “Without a scratch too!”

“He’s not as bad as you think.”

“Tell that to the others he flipped off. You’re actually the first one he didn’t give a snide comment on. So consider yourself lucky.”

Letoile sighed. She knew Langris was high noble and he had a strong character, but to deliberately make enemies from your own squad? Yeah, she didn’t think Langris was that foolish. She knew that in the Golden Dawn, there were equally strong personalities… and with how big their squad was, it was difficult not to cross paths.

Suddenly, someone bumped into her.

“Excuse me? Could you help us?”

David snorted and started laughing silently. Behind Letoile, there was a small line of people asking for her help. They each have a report to give, but were too terrified to hand it over themselves. Letoile twitched in irritation.

 _“Wimps,_ ” She called them.

If they were that terrified, they could always slip it into Langris’ study.

Then again, she could’ve done that too.

* * *

**oOo**

Most of the day had gone and Langris was still annoyed.

Captain Vangeance was nowhere to be found and Langris had caved. Staying in the dining area had been a stupid mistake. There was too much chatter and too many people coming up to him to either congratulate him or ask him things he didn’t care about.

He was also out of cherry tarts.

Langris grimaced as he decided to move back to his study.

If Captain Vangeance disliked the way he worked, they could always negotiate it. But Langris wasn’t going to subject himself to torture. He carried his belongings and moved back to his study. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted with several items on his desk.

“What the hell?” He gasped.

There were flowers and gifts on his table. There was even a bottle of wine wrapped in a pretty ribbon. Langris went in, closed the door with his foot, and placed the reports down on his desk. He picked up the nearest thing, which was the wine bottle and looked at the card attached to it.

_Congratulations, Vice-captain Langris!_

There was no name attached.

Langris placed it down to look at the rest and he realized that none of them had any names on it. The boxes were wrapped in different colors and he could tell it wasn’t from the same person. He rolled his eyes and started opening them. He was surprised to receive all sorts of items.

He got a gold cufflink that had his house sigil engraved on it.

There was an expensive pen with lovely engravings, a mug, some flowers, a wine glass, and there was a gift bag full of fruits… there was even a box of baked cherry tarts.

As he went through the gifts, his irritation slowly disappeared.

While he believed most of the gifts were given by force or necessity, in the back of his mind, he believed at least one of them was genuine. Honestly, to think that some people cared, made his efforts as vice-captain less taxing and a little more freeing.

Still, there was a sting in his heart that can’t be fixed.

He wanted to dwell on it, but then again… he knew he shouldn’t. So for a while, he let that irritation fade and embraced the other overwhelming feelings. He looked at the pile of reports and sorted them out.

In the safety of his study, he allowed himself a small smile.

Maybe today wasn’t a bad day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next will be the Black Bulls~  
> Please review and tell me what you think!~  
> Thank you!


	2. The Black Bulls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so difficult to get out! But here it is~

Finral wept as he sat on the couch and held a pillow to his chest. He was in the common room along with everyone, save Charmy, who was busy making them breakfast. He would’ve stayed in his room, but Yami insisted rather strongly that he would drag Finral downstairs if he didn’t stop moping.

Finral was emotional not suicidal.

“Come on, Finral.” Vanessa huffed. “It’s just for breakfast.”

_“Why do they think I won’t eat?”_

He was a portal mage. If he was hungry, he ported to the kitchen to get food and ate in his room. He wasn’t starving himself. Although it made him happy that his friends worried about him, but then again it did also make him feel a little guilty.

It was partly his fault for staying cooped up for several days.

It was just difficult to get back to the same routine after his falling out with Langris.

 _“Stupid,”_ Finral berated himself. _“Why couldn’t you be honest with him?”_

He continued to weep silently. He should’ve trusted his gut and told Langris the truth. It might not have hurt as much as it did now. He could’ve told his brother he was changing his last name and moving out for good… but then his thoughts turned to: _Oh, I'm a failure so I’m just running away completely because it’s too much to bear…._

It still didn’t sound better.

He just felt sick.

“I can’t do this.” Finral whined. “Can I be excused?”

“Don’t move,” Vanessa crossed her arms. “You’re staying with us.”

“But why?”

“Trust us, Finral. It’ll get better.”

“How?” He wondered, leaning back with tears in his eyes. “He doesn’t want to speak to me. Even when I try to request a meeting, he cancels it. I’m barred from the Golden Dawn until further notice. They’d only entertain me if it was work related and it’s not.”

“So you screwed up.”

“Vanessa, you’re horrible.”

“I’m just saying it how I see it.” She moved to hug him. “It happens to everyone. Give him some space and I’m sure he’ll ease up eventually. You’ll be back in his life before you know it.”

“But he’s so angry.”

Finral lifted the pillow to his face and tried to bury himself in it. Vanessa sighed as she prodded Finral to give in and accept his current fate. Mostly because he had no control over what Langris wanted versus what _he_ wanted.

Vanessa thought, _“He’s so stubborn when he wants to be.”_

She started giving Finral some advice, but the more she went on the more Finral overthinked. He came up with so many excuses that it was becoming increasingly difficult to help him. It wasn’t just Vanessa that was getting frustrated; it was everyone near enough to hear them.

Finral’s constant whining and self-deprecating nonsense even got to Gauche, who was usually so tightly in tune with Marie’s picture.

“Quit it!” Gauche yelled. “You’re so noisy!”

Finral lay down on the couch and curled up in silence. Vanessa grimaced, but this wasn’t new. Finral had always been an emotional sweetheart. He couldn’t help but be himself. Vanessa decided to try and pry the pillow away from him to get him to open up with them, but it didn’t work.

“No,” He whined. “Just let me stay like this forever.”

Vanessa opened her mouth to comment, but Gauche beat her to it. “Let him go.” He said. “He’s quieter that way.” Vanessa rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wondered how the whole team functioned. Doing so only made her head hurt.

She needed some wine.

“Be a little sensitive, Gauche.” Vanessa suggested. “Finral’s trying.”

“Yeah,” Gauche whispered. “To get on our nerves.”

Vanessa shook her head and grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine from the table. She decided she didn’t need the glass, so she went without it and chugged down the bottle instead. She really needed it if she was going to last the morning listening to everyone complain. She tapped Finral’s shoulder and he looked up.

“Want some?” She sweetly asked. “It’s delicious.”

“No, thank you.” Finral mumbled. “You just want to get me drunk so I would talk.”

“Exactly.” She giggled. “Easiest way to spill your secrets.”

“I’m not in the mood to drink.”

“Come on, I’ll let you cry on my chest.”

“No, thank you.”

Magna and Luck stopped running around when they noticed how completely silent Finral went. Even if it was a gag at this point between him and Vanessa, Finral refusing her offer was a big shock. Vanessa leaned back on the couch when Magna and Luck stared at her.

“Don’t look at me.” She huffed.

“He’s been like that for several days now.” Luck stated. “And he cries like Magna.”

“Real men show emotions!” Magna defended. “Live a little!”

“Will he feel better if I fight him emotionally?”

“Don’t you dare, Luck!”

As the two argued, they barely noticed Grey- _large and terrifying-_ move to stand behind them. The looming shadow caught their attention and they slowly turned around. Suddenly, Grey transformed with a puff of smoke into a perfect copy of Finral, one that wasn’t sad and crying.

“It’s probably a girl problem.” Grey pointed out.

Vanessa’s face remained blank as she absentmindedly chugged the bottle of wine down. Magna and Luck were speechless. Gordon mumbled, “He’s just upset about family.” But no one heard it. Yami looked up from his newspaper to roll his eyes at them and Gauche’s eyes twitched when he looked up from Marie’s picture.

“You’re all insane.” Gauche grumbled.

Grey _(transformed as Finral)_ wrapped his arms around Magna and Luck and tried to drag them out the door to look for a date. Magna struggled and commented about Grey’s creepy nature while Luck laughed like a lunatic. Out of the two of them, Luck clearly enjoyed the chaos.

“Copy me next!” Luck begged. “Let’s fight!”

“I don’t like fighting.” Grey said, mimicking Finral. “There’s no love in this world.”

Gauche had enough.

“Knock it off, Grey!” He called out. “It’s creepy! I can’t concentrate on my little angel with all this noise!” After that, he trailed off and was once more distracted by his sister’s picture. Everyone ignored Gauche and went back to figuring out a way to cheer Finral up. Their portal mage continued to lie on the couch looking like he had fallen asleep, but they knew he was pretending.

Suddenly, Charmy popped out from the door.

“Food is almost ready!”

Charmy blinked twice and moved closer to Finral and Vanessa.

“Is Finral okay?” She asked. “Is he hungry?”

“No need to worry, Charmy.” Vanessa said, poking Finral’s slightly exposed cheek. “Finral’s fine. He’s just emotional and a little bit dramatic.”

“Am not.” Finral mumbled.

Yami folded his newspaper and decided to join in on the conversation. “He’ll stop whining eventually.” Yami voiced as he lit himself a cigarette and blew out smoke. “Langris isn’t going to let him back in his life after he ditched and didn’t tell. Add that up with his brother’s shaky trust issues.”

“It was a mistake!” Finral cried harder. “I didn’t think it would go that far.”

“Yeah?” Yami huffed. “What made you think so?”

“I was afraid he wouldn’t take it nicely if I suddenly told him.”

“He’s not taking it nicely now, is he?”

“Why are you mean, Yami?”

“You should’ve trusted your gut and told him the truth.”

Finral had nothing else to comment. He buried himself back on the pillow and let himself lie flat on the couch like a dead person. Vanessa drank her wine as she patted and ruffled Finral’s hair to comfort him. Yami rolled his eyes at the two. They weren’t making it easier for anyone, that’s for sure.

“Is he crying again?” Luck asked.

“Who’s Langris?” Magna questioned. “A friend of his?”

“His little brother,” Yami cleared. “He’s the Golden Dawn’s new vice-captain. He’s also a spatial mage, but his magic isn’t like Finral’s. You and Luck haven’t met him yet since it was before you two were recruited, but Langris was here for the Squad Trade.”

“Squad Trade?” Luck repeated. “What’s that?”

Yami gestured, “Ask them.”

Grey _(still transformed as Finral)_ embraced himself and trembled. “He was mean to everyone.” Grey whispered. “He’s almost as scary as the Captain.” Grey trailed off and sat next to Gordon, who mumbled continuously about the tale even if no one could hear what he was saying. Magna and Luck thought Gordon was just cursing or hexing Langris.

“He was okay.” Charmy said. “He ate my food.”

Magna asked, “And how is that okay?”

“No one can resist my food!” She crossed her arms, slightly fuming. “He didn’t say it was delicious, but I know he liked it!” Charmy suddenly declared, “He’ll be back someday!” With that statement she drifted back to the kitchen to check on breakfast.

Vanessa laughed. “Too bad you two weren’t here.” She told Magna and Luck as she raised a newly opened bottle while she continued to stroke Finral’s hair. “It happened last year just before Magna got recruited. Finral and Langris switched squads for a couple of days. It’s funny, because Langris blushes exactly like Finral does.”

“You’re mean,” Finral mumbled. “I don’t like you.”

“Shush now, I’m informing them.”

“No, you’re not.”

Magna and Luck turned to Gauche, expecting a similar reaction.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t.

“Don’t bother.” Yami declared. “Gauche was newly recruited when the Squad Trade happened. He was out on a mission. I’d say we were lucky he was gone. If Gauche had been there, the base wouldn’t be standing and there’d be a lot less people in this room.”

“Why did you exchange squads in the first place?” Magna wondered. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

Yami grumbled, “It was Julius’ idea.”

“Did it work?”

“Does it look like it did?” He snorted, blowing another puff of smoke. “The only one that had a good time from it was Finral.”

Magna and Luck looked at Finral, who curled up tighter and whined something incoherent. Vanessa loomed over his ear and whispered something. She giggled when Finral tried to shoo her away. Yami snickered, making Magna and Luck turn their attention back to him.

The Captain looked up at the ceiling with a smirk on his face.

“If he wasn’t so stuck-up,” Yami said. “Langris actually fits the Black Bulls.”

Vanessa knew Finral heard that. How could he not, when he was just pretending to be lost in his own world. She downed the rest of her wine as Magna and Luck stared at each other. Yami was done talking, any more goading and he’d probably snap.

Out of nowhere, Magna thought of something.

He hit his palm with a fist and pulled Grey, who was still pretending to be Finral, away from Gordon. “Here’s the thing,” Magna whispered his plans to Grey’s ear while Luck listened too. “Since you know Finral’s brother, why don’t you try and pretend to be him and see if you can get Finral to talk.”

“Or apologize,” Luck said. “He clearly did something wrong.”

“That too.”

Grey stated, “It seems like a bad idea.”

“Of course it is.” Luck laughed. “It’s Magna’s idea.”

“Shut up!” Magna said. “Just try it, Grey.”

Grey scowled. It was unfitting on Finral’s face. However, Grey gave in. Grey transformed with a puff of smoke. Vanessa couldn’t warn them fast enough. She was too busy choking on her wine to get a word out. Magna and Luck continued to stare as they eyed the details, down to the uniform and Golden Dawn robe.

Yami just shook his head.

_“Idiots.”_

Suddenly, Grey called out, “Brother!”

Upon hearing Langris’ voice, Finral pushed himself to sit up. His eyes were teary and his hair disheveled from Vanessa’s ruffling. Finral froze and paled when Grey took a step forward. It was like the whole world stopped. Grey crossed his arms and took a deep breath to scream.

“STOP ACTING PATHETIC AND MISERABLE!”

“G-grey…” Magna tensed.

“Eh,” Luck laughed. “Is he like this?”

“LOOK AT YOU!” Grey continued. “ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO STAY LIKE THAT FOREVER?!”

Magna felt like his soul was flying away from him. He didn’t expect Grey to start screaming bloody murder. It was _way_ too early! He even told Grey to play nice to at least give Finral a chance to figure out what he wanted! What was this?! Luck wasn’t helping either. He was just laughing and goading Grey to keep going.

“Idiots,” Yami loudly mumbled.

“You’re not helping!” Vanessa finally said. “And Grey, quit it.”

It took a moment for Finral to react after Grey stopped yelling at him. “I already knew it was you, Grey.” Finral said. “If Langris were really here, everyone would feel his mana and his words wouldn’t be that... mellow.” The reason he froze was because he still couldn’t face Langris. Even knowing what he wanted to say in the back of his mind, he couldn’t do it.

It was difficult.

Finral paled, feeling sick again. “You’re right though!” He whined. “I _am_ pathetic and miserable! And it’s all my fault!” He fell back on the couch. “I knew what I was doing but I still went through with it.”

“You guys are making it worse.” Vanessa grumbled. “I have to deal with his complaining.”

“You’re not helping either.” Finral said.

Distracted, Magna grabbed Grey and started shaking. “What are you doing?!” He asked. “You’re supposed to be nice to him!” Still in Langris’ form, Grey continued to act the part as he glared at Magna. Magna tensed, feeling like his soul was being ripped away from him again. “Why are you glaring at me, Grey?!”

“Who do you think you are, peasant?!”

“Don’t call me that!”

Vanessa giggled at her weird friends as Magna and Grey _(Langris)_ continued to argue while Luck tried to join in. Vanessa nudged Finral, who was lying at his side and facing the couch. “Come on, Finral. You’re missing out on the fun.” She softly voiced. “You did what you could. You’re a good brother and Langris is lucky to have someone like you in his life.”

“Is he though?” He asked. “I lied to him.”

“Hid from him,” She corrected. “Because you didn’t want to hurt him.” She smiled, offering him some wine. “Don’t beat yourself up over something you can’t control. You can’t mope around forever.”

“I guess not.”

Finral sat up properly and fixed his clothes and hair.

He took the wine glass Vanessa offered and let her pour him a glass. He downed it in one go. Right on time, Charmy popped out from the door and called out “Food is ready!” Her sheep trickled one by one from the hall to the common room, carrying large trays of food. Yami got up and moved to sit next to Finral and Vanessa.

“Oi, Charmy.” Yami ordered. “Don’t forget to wake Henry up.”

“Roger!” Charmy saluted.

She quickly ducked to the hallway to fetch Henry. Gauche reluctantly changed seats to join them. Grey shifted back into someone other than Langris and sat beside Gordon. Magna and Luck joined Gauche. All of a sudden, the base started shaking. The wall opened up at the side to give space for Henry’s room.

“Good… morning!” Henry greeted. “I’m… starving.”

Everyone greeted him back.

Charmy, who enjoyed the small ride down, took a plate from one of her sheep to hand Henry some. After that, she grabbed another plate and took a spoon full of food and moved to Finral. Finral looked down and Charmy shoved food into his mouth. He had no choice but to chew and swallow while Vanessa laughed beside him. It was delicious, of course, but he wasn’t really feeling it.

“Have some more!” Charmy said. “Or do you want me to feed you?”

“I’m not sick,” Finral chuckled. “I’m just not hungry.”

“Nonsense! I know when someone’s hungry.”

Charmy handed him the giant plate of food and it was enough to make him nauseous. It was probably because he was _actually_ hungry. He placed the plate on his lap and thanked Charmy, who settled next to Grey and Gordon to chow on her own meal.

“Cheer up,” Yami said. “I’m sure his temper won’t last.”

Finral mumbled, “You think so?”

“Do you think it will?”

“Maybe.”

“Trust me.” Yami mumbled. “It won’t last. Your brother’s stubborn, not stupid.”

Finral sighed as he tried to take his mind of his little brother. He was surprised to find it so easy to do, especially in a house like this where everyone was having a conversation. Back at House Vaude, it was so quiet and a little depressing with no one but the maids or servant to talk to.

Here, in the Black Bulls base, everyone was doing their own thing.

It was… _uplifting._

 _“This is my home now.”_ Finral thought. _“Officially my home.”_

There was no going back.

Magna was arguing with Grey, who transformed into a copy of Luck to try and rile him up. It was working too. The real Luck was laughing, because it was fun to mess with Magna. Gordon was still mumbling about the Squad Trade story while Gauche was asking Charmy what he’d buy for Marie since they were almost the same size. Charmy wasn’t offended, but she tried to point out she was a young woman. Yami was having a conversation with Henry and Vanessa. Vanessa multitasked as she took off her constricting clothes to feel a lot more comfortable.

It was chaotic.

It was the complete opposite of House Vaude.

_If he wasn’t so stuck-up, Langris actually fits the Black Bulls._

Finral smiled and silently laughed at the idea Yami had presented to him. _“In another world, maybe.”_ He thought. One day, when Langris was calm enough, they would talk and Finral would explain everything. He would explain why he exchanged House Vaude for… well… this chaos.

If Langris would let him, Finral would tell him about the Bulls and how they made him feel, how they worried, how they cared… or how they pushed his limits compared to how he felt when he still dwelled in House Vaude under their parents rule.

He was sure Langris would understand.

Besides, his little brother was in good hands. He had a good future ahead of him. He was popular and had a wonderful reputation. He had everything. Finral didn’t need to worry. He carefully gazed at everyone in the room. Finral was sure that Langris had friends. It was impossible not to have any.

 _“This is my home now.”_ He smiled. _“And I’m happy here…”_

He remembered what Yami had told him.

_You can have more than one family._

Yes.

He can.

“Feeling better?” Vanessa nudged him. “I see you smiling.”

Finral laughed, “With you guys, it’s difficult not to.”

For the rest of the day, he was bombarded with chaos. His friends, although he already told him he was feeling better, continued to make sure he was. It was gratifying and emotional. He got teased from time to time for being an emotional baby for crying when he got overwhelmed, but it was worth every tear drop.

He was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and tell me what you think~  
> Thank you!


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